Apple’s iPhone X hasn’t sold as well as the tech giant has hoped, according to recent news reports. And now a new survey shows why that may be.
In a note to investors on Monday, Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson released the results of a survey of 1,500 iPhone owners about why they haven’t upgraded to iPhone X. According to Apple news site PED3.0, which earlier reported on the findings, Olson found that 44% of people who didn’t upgrade said that they balked at the idea because their current “iPhone works fine.” Meanwhile, 31% of respondents said that the iPhone X, which starts at $999, is too expensive. And 8% said they would have upgraded if the new phone had a larger screen.
The Phone X, which premiered last year, comes with an all-new design and the biggest phone screen Apple has ever offered at 5.8 inches. Face ID, a new face-scanning feature, replaces a fingerprint scanner that lets users unlock the device and validate mobile payments.
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Those new additions, coupled with other upgrades, including a faster processor that lets the device play more resource-intensive apps, made it the most expensive iPhone ever released.
Since then, news reports have suggested that customers aren’t buying as many iPhone Xs as Apple had expected and that the company will discontinue production this summer, which is earlier than anticipated. Apple hasn’t confirmed that’s the case, but that hasn’t stopped finger pointing suggesting that the handset’s high price and new features could be causing disappointing sales.
Although Piper Jaffray’s findings may suggest trouble, Olson remains confident that all is well in Apple’s overall smartphone business. He predicts that Apple will sell 233.8 million iPhones of all kinds during its 2019 fiscal year and should see strong smartphone sales through all of 2018—even the iPhone X. He didn’t, however, share exact iPhone X sales numbers.
